


The Sta(i)rs Below

by HufflepuffChildOfApollo



Category: Vega Jane Series - David Baldacci
Genre: Accidentally finding out secrets, Dogs, Empyrean, F/M, Friendship, Harry Two Is Missing, Looking for a lost dog, Magic, Magically expanding houses aren't always useful, No Plot/Plotless, Rare Fandoms, Short One Shot, Small Fandom, The Elemental, The stars below, mid-book 4, what do you take me for?, yes the title is a pun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-26 22:03:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HufflepuffChildOfApollo/pseuds/HufflepuffChildOfApollo
Summary: Vega's dog, Harry Two, has gone missing somewhere in the vast halls of Empyrean. Now Vega and Delph must try and find the missing canine. In the process they discover something new about Empyrean.





	The Sta(i)rs Below

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse the awful pun in the title, I had to.

Vega sighed, peering through the dark, dusty space under yet another bed. She'd been searching in vain for Harry Two all bloody day, and she was getting ready to call it quits. 

 "How many rooms to go, Delph?" Vega asked gruffly as she shimmied out from under the bed, trying not to breathe too much so the dust wouldn't go up her nose. 

 "Has to be...thirty more, Vega Jane," Delph said, shuffling his feet. "Excepting the kitchen." 

 Vega nodded. Mrs. Jolly, the cook in form of a broom, would never let Harry Two in the kitchen while she was cooking. Vega sighed, straightening up and stretching her cramped muscles.

 "We've got a bloody war to fight and you're still fretting over that canine," Petra Sonnet said, leaning on the doorway and chewing on a fingernail. "Is he that bloody important?" 

 "I don't see you helping," Vega snapped. "The sooner we find Harry Two the sooner we can head out." 

 "I'm not helping you look for a stupid canine." Petra snorted, pushing off the door frame and flipping her knife out of her belt. "I'll be in the battle room if you need me." She walked out, twirling the knife in her hand.

 Vega internally groaned. Petra was a good friend and a formidable ally, but sometimes she could be a real pain in the behind. She turned to Delph, sighing. "Next room?"

 Delph nodded, walking toward the room across the hall. After checking every hiding place, they deduced that Harry Two must not be in that room. That was when one of Delph's heavy boots came down on a plank, and it  _echoed._

Delph stepped back, his eyes wide. Vega frowned, dropping to her knees and knocking on the floor with a knuckle; the resulting dull, echoing thud told her all she needed to know. She jumped to her feet, startling Delph. "There's a trapdoor here," she said, pointing to the floor beneath her feet. 

 "Blimey, Vega Jane, how do you figure that? Could just be a loose board." Delph tapped the board with the toe of his boot, glancing at Vega. "Or, could be a trapdoor."

 Vega sighed, taking the Elemental out of her pocket and willing it to full size; within moments she had a long spear in her hand. Delph stepped back nervously, eyeing the weapon. Vega pushed the top of the spear into the seam between two floorboards, grunting with effort. "Delph, help me." 

Delph moved behind her, placing his large, calloused hands over hers and helping her pry up the square of boards. It took a sliver to get all the sides loose, then another two to lift it out of the hole it was nestled in. Once they were done there was a gaping hole in the floor, with a staircase leading down into the dark depths of the house. 

 Vega stepped back, willing the Elemental to return to wand form and muttering a spell. "Solas-fos," she whispered, and a ball of light floated from the end of her wand, hanging in the air. Delph watched, eyes wide. 

 "Bloody Hel, Vega Jane." His lips split into a grin and he looked over at her. She smiled and took his hand, cautiously testing the first step. It seemed sturdy enough, so she went to the next. Slowly, cautiously, Vega and Delph made their way down the stairs, Vega's spell shining brightly to show her the way. 

As they got closer to the bottom of the stairs, Vega's light dimmed, not bright enough to shine through all the cobwebs and dust, and the temperature had dropped considerably. Vega ran her hand along the wall to her right, feeling a bumpy, scratchy surface, and figured the walls must be covered in lichen.  _It is an old house, after all._

 "Vega Jane, how far do you reckon this goes?" Delph asked from beside her. Glancing over, Vega could just make out his tall figure, cobwebs brushing against his head as he descended the stairs with her.

 "I suppose we must be under the house," Vega said. "It can't go on much further." 

She felt Delph shrug, and the two continued down the stairs in silence. Then, all at once, it became unbearably cold. Vega shivered, pressing herself against Delph's side. "P-p-perhaps we should go back up?" She suggested, her teeth chattering together. Delph nodded in agreement. But as they were walking back up the stairs they collided with something hard. 

 "Ow! What in Steeples' name?" Vega said, stepping back. She cast another ball of light and found herself facing a smooth wall of stone. She frowned. "That wasn't there before," she said, looking at Delph. Delph shook his head, his brow furrowed. 

 "I suppose there might be another way out," he said , though he didn't sound too optimistic about it. Vega sighed.

Vega was tempted to use a _pass-pusay,_ but they needed to find out what was down the stairs. "I'll transport us back once we find out what's at the end," she said, turning around. She and Delph walked back down the stairs, casting a few more balls of light which, it transpired, put off a little heat. 

Sometime later they reached the bottom of the stairs. The air was far clearer  and thick with the smell of leaf-mold, and the floor felt rather soft under their feet, like damp earth. There were things growing, too; Vega could feel something like moss tickling the soles of her feet. 

Vega shivered again, casting another light spell. Her eyes had adjusted to the near darkness already, so when the area lit up bright as the sun, it was rather disorienting. She blinked, shielding her eyes with her hands and looking around.

It appeared she and Delph had wound up in a large clearing. Trees towered over them, and stars shone above them, little pinpricks of light in the blackish-blue. Vega took another step forward, wishing she'd worn her boots -- her feet were already cold, and the dirt was even colder. She looked at Delph, who was looking about uncertainly. 

"I don't suppose you know where we are, Vega Jane?" he asked. Vega shook her head, gripping her wand. 

"No, but maybe we should have a look around. There might be something we need." She stepped forward, her gaze flickering around the circular clearing. She noticed a lot of sticks on the ground, though with their whiteness they could easily be bones. She picked one up, and instantly felt a surge of heat. 

 "Garm bones," she said. She didn't know where the knowledge came from, but she knew the bones were useful, as she'd seen Astrea using them before. She quickly shoved the bone into her tuck, picking up a few others. She wandered around the edges of the clearing, and saw several other plants that she felt she recognized; she realized she'd seen them in Astrea Prine's laboratory. She tore leaves off of several and placed them with the garm bones. Then she turned to Delph. "I think we've found all we need; now, let's get back to Empyrean." She held onto Delph's hand and tapped her wand twice on her thigh, muttering  _'Pass-pusay',_ and they appeared in the front hall of Empyrean. 

"Harry Two!" she exclaimed, running up the hall at the sight of her canine, who trotted up to her with an accusing look, as if asking why he'd been left behind. 

"Oh, I tried to find you. You wouldn't show up," she said as she scratched him behind the ears. "You're all dusty," she noted, eyeing the balls of fuzz all over his fur. "Let's get you a bath." She stood, walking down the hall with Harry Two following close behind. Inwardly, she sighed in relief. She'd been worried she'd never find her canine. But she did, along with more resources for Astrea. All in all, it was a productive day. 

 


End file.
